Suspender-check.



F. B. HAWES.

SUSPENDER CHECK.

APPLICATION FILEDJULY s, 1909.

Patented N0v.9, 1909.

LVVE/VTOR. W 63/6 m. Wm

%CJATTORNEY.

l'i lTNE-SSES: 0% M PATENT FFEQE.

FRANK B. HAWES, 0F LOWELL, IVLASSACHUSETTS.

SUSPENDER-CEEOK.

assess.

Application filed July 6, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. Heavies, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Suspender-Checks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to suspender-checks and has for its object to prevent the front ends of the shoulder straps of suspenders from being drawn up over the shoulders when the trousers are lowered without removing the vest and without unbuttoning the back straps, it being very diflicult to replace the shoulder straps when the vest or coat is on.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pair of suspenders, the front end of each shoulder strap being provided with my improvement, the check at the left of the figure being in front elevation and in closed or inoperative position and the check at the right of the figure being turned to show the left side thereof in operative position; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the front end portion of one of the shoul der-straps, the front strap, the cast-off loop and its attaching link and my improvement in operative position, the front strap, castoff link and the link which attaches the check to the shoulder-strap being in vertical section; Fig. 3, an enlarged. side elevation of the lower part of my improved check, partly in vertical section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 4, the movable parts of the check being represented in operative position in full lines and in folded position in dotted lines; Fig. i, a rear elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3 in operative position, the lower part of the spring being broken away.

The shoulder-straps A A back-strap B, front straps 0 C cast-off loops D D provided with a stud and socket catch with their connecting and adjusting devices, are all of any usual construction and operation, to enable the suspenders to be attached to the trousers and detached therefrom and to allow of the front straps C O being quickly disengaged from the shoulderstraps and again engaged therewith without unbuttoning the front straps from the trousers. These parts are not of my invention.

When the front straps C C are cast ofi or released from the loops D D and the trousers are lowered without unbuttoning Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 9, 1909.

Serial No. 506,174.

i the back straps, the front ends of the shoulder-straps will be drawn upward under the vest and are liable to be drawn up over the shoulders beyond convenient reach, so that there is great difliculty in subsequently bringing said front ends back to place. if have therefore provided means which prevent the front ends of the shoulder-straps from passing up backward over the shoulders out of convenient reach when the trousers are lowered and furnish an easy means of drawing said front ends back to normal position. Such means (which collectively I call a suspender-check) consist essentially of two plates or equivalent devices, hinged to each other at their edges in such a manner as to be folded together into small space or to be set at right angles to each other, devices for holding them in either of these positions and connections between the edge farthest from said hinge of one of said plates and the front end of the corresponding shoulder-straps.

The check-plate E is represented as a skeleton-plate of nearly rectangular shape hinged at c to a supporting plate E which is also represented as a skeleton and as provided near the edge farthest from the hinge c with a loop 6 which receives a strap F, preferably of elastic material, which passes irough a link G adapted to engage the front end of a shoulder-strap A or A A leaf-spring c is secured to the back of a supporting-plate E as by rivets c and bears at all times against an arm 6 which projects from the plate E in a backward and upward direction when said plate E is in operative position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3 and in a backward and downward direction at other times as shown by dotted lines in the same figure. An extension a of the plate E in the same plane with the body of said plate rests against the bottom of the supporting-plate E between the hinge parts 6 when said plate E is in operative position and acts as a stop to prevent said plate E from being thrown by the spring below a right angle with the plate E When the parts are in the positions shown by dotted lines in Fig. 8, the arm 6 reaches below the hinge and the pressure of the spring holds the plate E parallel with the plate E The link G is represented as a wire passed through the doubled upper end of the strap 1 F and bent upward on each side of the corresponding shoulder strap, the ends of said wire being bent horizontally past each other, so that the horizontal end-portions f f will hook in opposite directions into the folded or doubled lower end of said shoulder strap.

In practice, the castoff loop may be opened by one hand while the corresponding check is opened into operative position by the other hand and in restoring the parts to normal position, the check may be closed by the same hand which draws the check forward and down.

When the plate E is in operative position there is not space enough between the shoulder and the vest to allow the check to pass between them.

Only one shoulder-strap needs to be pro vided with a check and only one front strap (the one supported by the same shoulderstrap) needs to be cast off.

I claim as my invention 1. A check attachment for suspenders comprising a plate, means of suspending the same by its upper edge in vertical position from the shoulder-strap of a suspender, a piece hinged to the lower edge of said plate and means for holding the same perpendicular to or, at will, parallel with said plate.

2. A checkattachment for suspenders I comprising a plate, a link adapted to engage a shoulderstrap, a strap connecting the lower end of said link and the upper part of said plate, a piece hinged to the lower part of said plate and provided with a backwardly extending arm, a spring secured to hold said piece in or out of parallelism with said plate and a stop to limit the turning of said piece on said plate to a right angle.

A checkattachment for suspenders, comprising a plate, a link adapted to engage a shoulder-strap, a strap connecting the lower end of said link and the upper part 01 said plate, a piece hinged to the lower part of said plate and provided with a backwardly extending arm, a spring secured to said plate and bearing against said arm to hold said piece in or out of parallelism with said plate and a stop projecting from said piece below said arm and adapted to strike said spring and to limit the turning of said piece on said plate to a right angle.

In witness whereof, I have afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK B. HAWES. lVitnesses ALBERT M. Moore,

, GRACE CROWLEY.

said plate and bearing against said arm to V 

